The Game & Tyrese Gibson Will Star In “Waist Deep”

Hip-hop superstar The Game and actors Meagan Good and Larenz Tate are joining actor Tyrese Gibson in the cast of Rogue Pictures’ urban action thriller “Waist Deep.” Directed by Vondie Curtis Hall (who last helmed the acclaimed “Redemption,” starring Jamie Foxx), the movie began production this week. Rogue Pictures president David Linde made the announcement today.

“Waist Deep” is being produced by Preston Holmes (executive producer of Focus Features’ February release “Something New”). Ted Field (head of Radar Pictures), Russell Simmons and Stan Lathan are executive producing the film, with Dwight Williams (executive producer of “Hustle & Flow”) line-producing. Mr. Hall wrote the most recent draft of the screenplay, the previous drafts of which were written by A. Michael Mahern and Darin Scott, respectively. Executive vice president, production Amy Kaufman, who will make the transition to independent producing and be based at Focus Features this fall, is supervising the Los Angeles-based “Waist Deep” shoot for president of production John Lyons. Focus, headed by co-presidents Mr. Linde and James Schamus, holds international sales rights to all Rogue movies.

“Waist Deep” follows an ex-con, O2 (to be played by Mr. Gibson), who is suddenly plunged into a life-or-death situation. Trying to go straight for the sake of his young son Junior, O2 is forced to go back outside the law when Junior is kidnapped in a carjacking. His son is now in the hands of a vicious criminal leader, Meat (The Game). O2’s shady cousin Wanna Be (Mr. Tate) is caught between loyalties, and so the only person who can or will help O2 now is wily street-smart hustler Coco (Ms. Good). With the clock ticking down, the heat between them rises as they become a lawbreaking couple, on an action-packed tear through town to save Junior and outwit the underworld.

Mr. Linde commented, “‘Waist Deep’ perfectly fits Rogue’s mandate of filmmaker and actor-driven genre product that has mainstream appeal — in this movie, a blast of urban action with a sexy 21st-century Bonnie and Clyde. We’re excited to be working with Vondie and these actors, and with a great group of producers.”

The Game, whose album “The Documentary” debuted at #1 on the Billboard/Soundscan Top 100 chart this past winter, is making his feature debut in “Waist Deep.” Ms. Good has starred for Focus Features in two films, the Sundance Film Festival award winner Brick (to be released in March) and “Deliver Us from Eva.” Mr. Tate recently starred in “Crash” and the Academy Award-winning “Ray.” Mr. Gibson currently stars in “Four Brothers.”

Focus Features (http://www.focusfeatures.com) is a motion picture production, financing, and worldwide distribution company committed to bringing moviegoers the most original stories from the world’s most innovative filmmakers.

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